Articles by Steven Gilchrist

Clinton, MA. – Towards the end of last year, I had the opportunity to visit the Museum of Russian Icons located in Clinton, Massachusetts.   The museum, which was founded in October, 2006 by Gordon B. Lankton, is the only museum in the United States dedicated to Russian iconography.   The museum is also home to the largest collection of Russian icons in North America. The museum is located at 203 Union Street adjacent to Clinton’s Central Park – the oldest public park in the United States.   Within the museums walls are over 500 Russian icons and artifacts spanning from the 15 th century to the present.   Lankton selected a 19 th century building as the location for the museum.   The building, which has 3 separate exhibit levels, was renovated and is equipped with advanced technological equipment.    Lankton – an avid collector of Russian icons chose Clinton, Massachusetts as the location for the museum because of his longstanding relationship w...

Lincoln, MA. -  I recently visited the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts.   The museum has several works of art in its outside park as well as exhibit halls inside the museum.   DeCordova, which is a public museum, specializes in contemporary and modern sculpture art. Founded in 1950, DeCordova encompasses 35 acres of well-groomed land adjacent to Flint’s Pond and has more than 60 pieces of art in its sculpture park venue at any given time.   The inside of the museum hosts rotating exhibits and offers guided programming. OZYMANDIAS is my favorite work of art in the sculpture park.   The 18’ x 16’ x 2’ wood, paint, and steel piece was created in 2009 by contemporary artist and educator Douglas Kornfeld.   The completely red OZYMANDIAS is a large sculpture that references ancient Egyptian worship monuments such as the Sphinx and Ramses the Great.   In displaying the larger-than-life sculpture, Kornfeld also “questions how c...

L ess than one month ago, on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the Caribbean island nation of Haiti. The earthquake has brought terrible destruction to the country of 9 million people. Despite the lingering effects of the earthquake the Haitian people continue to endure through extremely challenging circumstances. In reading about how the people of Haiti have survived this natural disaster, I was reminded of another aspect of Haiti that I learned about last year. I n June 2009, I visited the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists (NCAAA). Located in Boston, Massachusetts, the Museum primarily hosts exhibits created by African American artists. The NCAAA is the largest independent black cultural arts institution in New England. In 1968, the Museum was founded by Dr. Elma Lewis. Outside of the Museum there is a sculpture that was crafted by John Wilson. Built in 1987, Eternal Presence is an example of the NCAAA’s mission for promoting ...

L ast week, I visited the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston. A couple of years ago, the ICA moved from its former location on Boylston Street to its present location at 100 Northern Avenue along the Boston Harbor. On Thursday nights, the Institute offers free admission. When I visited the ICA it happened to be on a Thursday night. I had only been to the new location of the ICA once (in June of 2007) before to see a modern dance performance. I had also been to the former location of the ICA. The new location has a larger building and many more amenities. I was very impressed by the varied works of art, including: paintings, artistically oriented video clips, sculptures, and furniture. At the exhibit on the fourth floor, there were works by Gerard Byrne, Paul Chan, and Kader Attai. The latter of the three had a video on display called Oil & Sugar. The video showed a set of small sugar cubes in the beginning, followed by oil being poured down onto the cubes, consequently m...